


Masquerade

by Bolt41319



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-05 21:22:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16375223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt41319/pseuds/Bolt41319
Summary: In the midst of the annual Mist Haven Masquerade, Robin finds himself entranced by the gorgeous woman in a maroon mask.Written for SpookyOQ





	1. Mask

**Author's Note:**

> This is a multichapter fic for SpookyOQ. 
> 
> Thank you to Jess @babylawyerOQ for the Beta!

He wasn’t truly prepared for the Masquerade Ball, but here he found himself, surrounded by all of the rich proprietors of Mist Haven. He watched as they moved around one another, wine glasses in hand, celebrating the first cask opening of the new season. 

The Merry Men had heard of the party through word in the kingdom. There was a buzz floating through the taverns of all of the richest people collected in Queen Cora’s castle and finally away from their own homes. 

The men had run back to Robin with excitement coursing through them, rambling on about how this was their perfect opportunity to break into King Leopold’s castle, but Robin had other ideas. 

_ “Everyone’s going to be running toward the abandoned castles. We should run toward it. There’s a whole world of rich people in one room. What better way to ensure we get the best loot?”  _

Day later he found himself watching, scanning the room as people spin around one another, wine glasses in their hands and fake grins plastered across their faces. 

The simple part of his plan was to break into the party. That’d been the easy part, really. He’d stolen a suit off of one of the carriages the men had robbed a week back, had Tuck create a mask using the different materials from the other suitcase they’d pilfered. 

He’d had a moment of hesitation as he slipped his way through the door and followed the crowds of people into the main hall. There were hundreds of people lining the walls, all dressed in their best. He listened carefully, trying to decipher which of them were the richest, the ones to rob first, when he spotted her from across the room. She caught his eye as he stood tall, his eyes never leaving her gorgeous form. 

She was brilliant. He couldn’t help but stare at her as she stood perched against the column, sipping wine from the glass curled devilishly between her fingers. A mask adorned her face, a beautiful maroon cast against the black of her hair, that covered everything but her lips. Her lips, red as the tight dress wrapped around her gorgeous figure. He watched their movements as she spoke, curled into a smile when she let out a bright laugh. Her eyes briefly met his and he stood stunned as she smirked. She lifted the glass carefully to her lips, eyes never leaving his as she sipped her wine before dismissing herself from the conversation to walk over to him. 

“You’ve been staring” she smirks again, those devilish red lips pulled tightly to one side. She extends her free hand to him and he swiftly brings his hand to her lips, pressing a lingering kiss to the back of her hand. 

“Forgive me, Milady. I was captivated though, particularly by that wine glass in your hand there. May I ask which you’ve chosen for the evening?”

“The Cabernet Sauvignon has become one of my favorites. And you? Any particular favorites?” She lifts her glass and takes another drink, savoring the wine as it works its way down her throat. 

“I’ve become a fan of the Pinot Noir, but i’m working to branch out. The names-”

She shushes him with a finger to his lips and he wants to kiss the sly grin off of her face. 

“What fun is it if we know one another’s names? This is a masquerade ball, after all. Lets keep it  _ interesting _ .” 

She reaches out for a clean wine glass from the table beside them and carries it away. She stops, for a moment, and glances over her shoulder at him. 

“You coming?”

X

They make their way down the staircase toward the wine cellar. He trails behind her, admiring her hips as they sway with each step. 

“My great grandfather built this cellar back in the late 1800’s. The walls are lined in stone to keep the temperature correct for the casks. You have be watch your step here, though. Be careful of the drop.” She carefully steps down, her high-heel clad foot placed carefully on the edge of the broken step before she continues down, never missing a beat. 

“You seem to know a lot about this castle” he begins, catching up to her as they come to an immense wooden door. She comes to a quick stop and he bumps into her, his hand coming up to quickly grasp her waist to stop himself. “I- sorry” he mumbles, pulling his hands away from her waist. “This the wine cellar?”

She flashes him a sly smile over her shoulder. Her hand comes up to grip the knob, slim fingers wrapping enticingly around the aged metal. She turns, hands still carefully wrapped around the handle that now presses deep into her lower back. Her eyes trail over him for the first true time, and she slowly licks her lower lip, teeth worrying the skin as she takes in the gorgeous man squeezed in the tight hallway with her. 

His bright blue eyes are a stark contrast from the deep green mask covering the top half of his face. There’s a gleam in his eye she recognizes from somewhere, but she brushes it off to give him another teasing glance. 

“Is it locked?” He leans in and the thick smell of pine and forest consumes her, his arm wrapping carefully around her to wiggle the handle of the door. 

He never touches her, but the warmth from his skin wraps her up and she craves to lean in and run her lips down the sharp jut of his jaw. She can see the smirk in the corner of his lips as he steps back, tells her to  _ step out of the way real quick _ while he kneels down and with a few quick movements, unlocks the door and pushes it open a crack. 

As he stands, his smile goes from a little smirk to a downright grin. 

“After you, milady.”

She brushes past him, the silk of her dress light against his arm as she steps into the dark room. He lifts the lit torch from the hallway and brings it into the room, lighting the lamps on the wall. A warm glow illuminates the wine cellar, lines of barrels in rows throughout the large stone room, the deep browns melding with the orange flames. He finishes lighting the torches along the wall, brightening the room while she pulls two glasses from the cabinet. She turns to ask him what type of wine he’s in the mood for when her eyes catch the hanging shadow toward the back of the room, and the wine glass slips from her hand and shatters against the floor. 


	2. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the midst of the annual Mist Haven Masquerade, Robin finds himself entranced by the gorgeous woman in a maroon mask.
> 
> For Day 2 of SpookyOQ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Day 2 of SpookyOQ

“Milady? Are you alright?” He comes back around the row of barrels, dim torch still in hand, to see the shattered glass surrounding her feet. “What did you-”

Her empty hand lifts, pointing to the shadowed figure behind him, strung up with ropes attached to the wrists and ankles. The figure looms above the barrels of wine, blood dripping down into a thick red pile collecting on the floor.

“There’s- that’s an- oh Gods” she gasps.

The body hangs precariously over the wine barrels, arms strung up to his sides, head dipped down so the man's hair falls in his face. There is blood seeping down, dripping from his toes into a puddle on the floor. Hundreds of small slices cover the body, fresh blood oozing from each slice. In the center of the man's bare chest, the letter H is carved.

He sets the torch in the hold against the wall and quickly pulls the other wine glass from her hand, moving her through broken glass toward the door. “We need to get out of here.”

“No! No, I need to see who that is. What if it’s-” she pushes past him, taking the torch from the wall with her as she moves her way toward the back of the long room. She stops, suddenly, when his hand grips her forearm and spins her back toward him.

“I’m telling you, you don’t want to go back there. You don’t need to see that, whatever it is. That’s nothing anyone should see, trust me.” He tries once again to pull her back to him, but she's determined. Stubborn, and determined. She pulls her arm from his hand and he sees the look of panic on her face, like she might know already who the body belongs to. He lets her go, and she rushes to the back of the cellar.

He watches as she comes to an abrupt stop, her chest heaving as she stares up at the hanging body. Silence surround them as she stands before the figure, the sickening _plop_ of each drop of blood echoing through the room. He finally moves, makes his way to her still form.

“Do- do you know who that is?”

She shakes her head, dark curls framing her face as her head falls and she lets out a deep breath. “I thought… our stable boy, Daniel, has been missing for three months now. He and I were- I thought there was something there. But he's been gone for a while now. He always dreamed of getting away from here, finally escaping the path his father had lined for him. When he disappeared I'd always assumed that he finally broke free, took a horse and got away. But that body just-”

She stops, shaking her head. His hand comes up and rests comfortingly on her shoulder. “I understand. Anyone would have been right to assume the worst, it's our natural instinct.”

She looks over her shoulder to him and nods, reaching her free hand up to squeeze his. “You were right though, we need to get out of here. There's plenty of wine upstairs- enough that we can drink to maybe forget what happened just now? Start over?”

“Starting over sounds… nice” he starts. “We should tell someone about that though. Someone needs to know.”

“We’ll get to that. I- we’ll tell someone, when the party's over. My mother would have my head if I ruined this. She’s worked so hard to put this stupid party together. We- we’ll just go back like nothings happened. We can-”

An eerie creak silences her, echoing through the room. They turn to watch as the door closes, and with a sickening screech the lock on the door sets.

He makes his way first to the door, hand outstretched to tug on the handle that he already knows won’t budge.

“Are we-”

“Trapped.”

“Oh fuck.”


	3. Bats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 3 of SpookyOQ

“Fuck, fuck,  _ fuck _ this is bad. Oh, gods, my mother will have my head for this. She’s already been so insistent that I’ll ruin her stupid  _ party _ , that even at the age of 20 I’m not capable of putting on a frivolous dress and standing around drinking wine with her and her rich friends. No, no not friends. Suck ups. These petulant stuck up rich  _ fucks _ that think they’re better than everyone else because they have nice clothes and too-large houses.” 

She’s pacing, working her way quickly back and forth across the room. A glass of wine sits perched in her hand, her third now since they’ve found themselves locked in her family’s wine cellar with a dead body looming above. 

He’s working his way across the floor of the room, fingertips tracing and tapping stones as he looks for an exit. He can feel her panic radiating as she works her way around the room, venting and drinking away her fears while he searches for a way out. 

“You know, your majesty, there’s a part of me that thinks you don’t like your mother,” he jokes. 

She stops dead, spinning to look at him with the glare he’s come to know well in the last hour they’ve been together. 

“Tell me, have you met my mother?” 

“I can’t say I’ve had the honor.” 

“She a horror. A fucking nightmare. I’ve half a mind to think she’s set up this whole horrific thing herself, just because she could.” 

He stops crawling at that, turns to raise an eyebrow at her. “You’ve means to tell me you think your mother murdered an innocent man and strung him up from the ceiling of your wine cellar because… she can?” 

She downs the rest of the glass of wine in her hand and makes her way to pour another. “She craves power like it’s water. My childhood was filled with lessons on how to rule, how love can destroy your chances of success. She’s never loved me, or my father. She loves being a royal. She throws lavish parties such as this one because she wants everyone else to know how prosperous she is.” She finishes filling the glass and takes another sip, making her way back toward him. “Wait- what’re you doing on the floor?”

He laughs, a deep throated sound that makes her knees weak. “I’m trying to find us a way out.” He kneels back on his calves, watching as she stands above him, still looking down confusedly. 

“By crawling around on the floor?” 

“Old cellars like this usually have a tunnel that will lead to the outside. When castles like this were built they used these cellars as shelter during wars. If ever a raid on the castle, the royals could make their way out through the tunnel. They’re hidden, though, so that they could escape safely without being found. If you look carefully enough, it’s likely there’s a misshapen stone so that they could find the entrance at quick notice.” 

She stares, startled as he stands back up to stretch. “You- how do you know all of this?” 

A smirk spreads across his face as he gives her a fleeting shrug. “I’ve broken into my fair share of castles. This one’s no different. It’s just a matter of breaking out, instead of in.” 

“Why would a royal need to break into a castle?”

It’s his turn now to stop, though his body is so close he’s practically pressed against her. He takes the wine glass from her hand, slowly taking a few gulps before placing it back between her fingers. “You truly believe that I’m a royal?” 

“I- you- you’re at the party.”

“Broke in,” he laughs. 

“And your clothes-”

“Stolen.”

“The mask?”

“Also made from materials we found in the stolen chest that the suit came from. You see, Milady, it’s not as hard as you’d think to pass as a royal. Your family doesn’t do much in way of security to stop people from slipping through whichever door they please.”

They’re still standing dangerously close to one another, the warmth radiating off of his body sending a chill up her spine. Her eyes stay fixated on his shining blues, and her free hand slowly reaches up, her fingertips grazing the edge of his mask. 

“So you’ve broken into my home and found your way, trapped in the cellar with the Queen's daughter and a dead body?” Her voice barely breaks a whisper, pads of her fingers slipping down to touch the stubble of his cheek. 

“Sounds like my typical Friday” he whispers back, his hand coming up to wrap gently around her wrist. “Except for getting trapped with the Queen’s daughter. I must say Your Majesty, this is not how I expected this night to go.” 

She glares, shaking her head. “Don’t call me that.” 

They stand like that for a moment, eyes frozen on one another. How strange is it, she thinks, to have found herself trapped in a room with a stranger and a dead body and feel nothing but ease. 

She doesn’t know this man, couldn’t tell his name or anything about him. But she trusts him. A thought passed, a quick fleeting moment where she believed that with his sudden appearance and the body hanging from the ceiling may have something to do with one another, but it passes just as quick as it had appeared. 

He raises his hand to hers and squeezes once, gives her a firm nod. “I should go find that passage, see if we can get ourselves out of here.”

She agrees, and as he goes back to crawling on the floor she finds herself drawn back to the body she’s been trying to avoid. 

Her feet carry her, somewhat unwillingly, toward the back of the room. 

The body, she now notices, is strung up carefully. The ropes are tied the same, a symmetrical pair pulled tight enough on either side so that the man's arms are stretched straight. The cuts aren’t too deep, just superficial, except for the deeply carved H in the center of the man's bare chest. 

At a closer look though, her eyes widen and her heart pounds. 

“H-hey, you need to come see this” she calls out. 

He’s by her side in seconds, looking up at the body. “What did you find?” 

“Look at the blood on the body. It’s- he’s not been dead long. She reaches out and circles her finger over the cuts closest to them. “This blood isn’t dry.”

He eyes the body carefully, looking it up and down a few times. His eyes widen, suddenly, and he reaches out and takes her forearm, tugging her back slowly. “We need to get of here.” 

She looks to him then back to the body. “Why- wait what did you see?”

“We don’t have time for questions, we need to go. I know what this is, who this is. We might have time, but we need to get out of the castle. It’s not safe, Milady.  _ You’re  _ not safe.” He goes to turn and smacks straight into one of the wine casks. There is a fluttering sound, and he shakes his head quick,  nose throbbing. But it all stops when he hears a loud shriek and she’s in his arms. 

“Bat! Bat, there was a bat” she cries out, her face pressed to his chest. 

His arms instinctively wrap around her and he chuckles as she shakes in his arms. 

She realizes where she is, and the panic rises in her chest as she quickly pulls away with a  _ sorry.  _

He brushes it off, but goes back to tug on her hand. “We really do need to go, though. There’s not much time.” 

“I’m not- no. You need to tell me what this is. You tell me you’re a stranger, you’ve broken into the castle, this dead body turns up, we’re  _ locked in the cellar _ , and you expect me to trust you? And now you’re telling me we need to go like someone might kill us? What is all this?”

“We do need to go” he says, squeezing her hand. “I know it’s ridiculous, and you’ve absolutely no reason to trust me. But we  _ have  _ to get it of here. I can explain it all soon, and I’m positive I’ve found the way out. But that- I know who killed that man. He’s crazy. Certifiably mad, the man is. And if he’s here in this party, we need to go. So tell me, Milady. Do you trust me?” 

She stares at him for a moment, and with a deep breath she seals her fate. 

“Regina” she whispers, squeezing his hand in return. “You can call me Regina.” 

“Well then, Regina,” he smiles. “I’m Robin. Let’s go.” 


	4. Bang!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Day 4 of SpookyOQ

With one strong push, Robin moves the stone concealing the switch to open the trap door in the floor. He lifts the panel, revealing an expansive stone staircase, spiraling downward into darkness. 

“This is it?” 

He nods. “After you, Regina. I’ll close up the hatch when we’re inside.” His hand comes around, warm against the small of her back, as he guides her down the first step. 

She hurries down part of the winding staircase, pausing to watch as he pulls the hatch shut and follows behind her. 

He comes down behind her and there’s his hand again, curled around her hip as he whispers  _ go, quickly, _ into her ear. 

They make their way quickly through the tunnel, pressed close together and perfectly silent. He’s listening, she can tell, for any unfamiliar sounds coming from behind them. She keeps in front of him, but the distraction of his hand still against her waist keeps drawing her back. 

He’s close. That’s all, no other real reason why he still hasn’t let go of her. His warm fingers, squeezing every so often as if to remind her he’s still there, like she couldn’t tell from his breath constant against the back of her head, or the scent of pine radiating around her from his chest. 

They keep running until the come across another staircase, this time headed upwards. Her eyes trail the staircase up into darkness, and she glances at him, shaking her head. “We have to go up there? Where’s this lead to?”

“I,” he stops, looking up with her. “Yeah, we have to go up there? But let me go first, so that-”

_ Bang!  _

_ “Who’s down there?”  _

Her heart plummets, sinking low into her stomach. The hand he has against her hip tightens, panic washing across his face. 

“Run,” he whispers, pushing her toward the stairs. He kneels down, pulling a knife from a strap against his calf. 

“Robin, no. Let’s go- please,” she pleads, but his hand is insistent against her, pushing her faster up the steps. 

“You have to go, get up there and hide. I’m right behind you, I promise.  _ Go, _ Regina.” 

She’s shaking her head but backing away, slowly moving backwards up the steps. “You better be out there, Robin. Two minutes, and I’m coming back for you. Please, promise me.” 

“I promise. Go!” 

He turns at the sound of footsteps pounding toward them, getting closer and louder as the seconds pass. He glances once more back over his shoulder, watching as she quickly makes her way up the staircase. 

His heart is pounding, blood pulsing in his ears as he strains to listen for footsteps, for a door to open,  _ something _ . 

He waits a moment, slowly backing himself up the staircase she just escaped through, knife extended out to be safe. He hears a creek behind him, a gust of air making its way onto the staircase as he assumes Regina’s escaped. The breath he lets out calms his heart some, knowing that at least she’s no longer stuck. He keeps backing away, faster now. The footsteps have stopped but he can hear breathing, no longer sure if it’s his own terrified breaths he hears. 

His back bumps against a door and he waits a moment, hesitant to jostle the door and make more sound than necessary. When he hears nothing, no footsteps or angry grunts from whomever was in the tunnel with him, he turns and quickly opens the hatch, climbing out. 

He’s strapping the knife back in when her arms come around him, an  _ oof  _ escaping when he collects her flying form in his arms. 

“Don’t you do that again,” she whispers, pulling away from him as quickly as she had launched herself at him. She steps back, hands brushing at her dress when his hand comes up to cradle her cheek, and his warm lips settle on hers.

He’s soft. It’s the first thing she realizes as he kisses her, a slow press of his lips to hers. Her hand comes up to wrap around his forearm, holding him close as she melts into the kiss. 

She pours herself back into the kiss, her other hand coming up to grip his shoulder as she kisses back. Her mouth parts, drinking him in.  

He parts from her moments later, chest heaving as he stares down. Her eyes reflect moonlight, and his thumb comes up to trace a path against the edge of her mask. 

“May I see you?” he whispers, thumb grazing back to work it’s way under the mask, but he waits, hesitant to break the trust she’s gracefully bestowed upon him. 

She nods, and he slowly peels the mask back to rest upon her head. 

_ “ _ Stunning” he whispers, and the blush that spreads up her cheeks has him leaning in to press a light kiss again to her lips. 

Her hands follow suit, reaching up to pull the mask from his face. She takes the mask completely, letting it rest in her hand as she leans up, grazing a final kiss against his jaw. 

“We need to run,” she murmurs against his skin, “but I’m happy you’re okay.”

“I know that I have a lot to explain, but I promise I’ll explain it all later. Let’s go. My camp is up the ways a bit, but we can make it.” 

“Robin, the party. My mother may be a nightmare but if there’s a murderer out there we need to warn someone. We can’t just-”

Her voice dies out at the sound of a scream, a high pitched echo coming through the door of the tunnel they’d just escaped from.


	5. Corpse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For SpookyOQ Day 5: Corpse

With pleading, she manages to convince him to run back toward the castle. They dodge trees and fallen branches, running hand and hand back toward the danger he’d love to keep her from. 

She’s stubborn though, and even as they come upon the castle he asks one last time if they can turn, run back to his camp, but she shakes her head and tugs him toward the gates. 

There are guards posted on either side of the entrance, and though he’s with the technical princess he still feels that nervous flutter in the pit of his stomach, like he’s doing something illegal. 

Regina stops them with a hand to his abdomen. She turns, whispering “follow my lead” before continuing their walk up the path. The guards are none the wiser, chatting absentmindedly as she steps toward them. 

She clears her throat and they turn, shocked looks spread across their faces. 

“Your Majesty!” The first man exclaims, bowing his head. “Why aren’t you in the party? Is everything alright.” 

Her demeanor changes instantly, and he’s mesmerized as the woman he’s grown so fond of in the last few hours changes into the queen she was clearly born to be. 

“You ask questions of me, though the two of you are just out here galavanting and not paying attention. Has anyone come in lately? Anyone odd or suspicious?” 

They shake their heads, smattering out excuses as to why they weren’t manning their posts when she hold a hand up, and they go silent. 

“Open the doors up instantly,” she commands. They do, apologizing again, but she stops them once more. 

“You need to keep a clear eye out. Anything out of the ordinary, any screams or sounds, you tell me immediately. Not my mother, me.” 

They nod, apologizing once more as she takes Robins hand and tugs him inside. 

She grins, a sly smile spreading as she pulls him past the guards and through the doors of the castle. “Sorry, about that. I- they fear my mother, and I hate using that persona but… sometimes it gets the job done a bit faster if you sound like a bitch,” she shrugs. The large wooden doors shut behind them, shaking as they settle closed. 

Ways away, toward the main part of the castle, they can still hear the bustle of the party, music playing and a murmur of distant voices. They walk toward the party, staying close to one another as they whisper in hushed voice. 

“Do you think they know?” she asks. 

He shakes his head. “There’s no way. All those rich people out there like this… If they caught wind of a dead body in the cellar below they’d all be gone. Your mother’s reputation would be destroyed.” 

“If anything, she’d be the first to know and keep it hush, just so that wouldn’t happen. Why- who do you think screamed though?” 

He shakes his head once more, making his way behind her as they head up a grand staircase toward the second floor. “I heard the footsteps when you first started up the steps, but they drown out. I think whomever it was turned around, and from the sound of that scream a woman… If the killer is who I think it is, and i’m sure i’m right, that woman is no more.” 

She stops abruptly, turning as he bumps into her back. “Who’s the killer? How- how do you know who the killer is?” She can see the look of hesitation on his face, and reassures him that they’re alone; that if she’s to trust him in all of this they needn’t any secrets. 

“When I first started all of this, the stealing and breaking into vast castles such as this one, I was alone. I’d just turned 16, and I’d run from my drunken father to this… I guess it’d be a compound, in the woods. It was there I met the Merry Men, as we’re so called now. Tuck took me in, helped me learn how to shoot a bow and wield a blade. John and I were the newest to the camp, and we wanted to prove ourselves.” 

He takes a deep breath, pausing for a moment to collect himself before continuing. 

“We’d decided to raid a house we found, just for food. We were so young, and so unbearably hungry. The house was dark, and from what we’d seen we believed that the family was out for a bit. It was perfect- we could go in, take some food and go. I never wanted to steal for the fun, it was for survival. And now… now it’s to help the poor. To take from those most fortunate and give to those in need.” 

“It’s very honorable of you” she nods, her hand coming up to rub lightly against his arm. 

“When we got into the house, though, we realized we were so very wrong. The couple who lived in the home had been kidnapped… The man- he was a monster. He had strung up the couple like the man we saw tonight, and was so busy torturing them that he never realized we’d even come in. We hid behind corners and watched. We were kids though… I wanted to help. To this day it’s what I regret the most- not being able to help that poor couple. I was so scared, and the man was frightening.”

“You were kids, Robin.” 

He nods, and she can see the pain etched across his face. “It was the worst i’d ever seen. I didn't realize it at first, when we saw that body. But the H… When he’d finished- what finally killed them was when he took the knife and carved his initials into their bodies. JH. His signature, I suppose. We made it out of the house, but returned back days later when we were sure he was gone. John and I took their corpses down, and gave them a proper burial. We figured if we couldn’t help them in life, we should give them a pathway toward a proper death. It’s why I only help those in need now.” 

“You’re trying to repay them,” she nods. 

He shrugs, and she leans in to wrap her arms around him. “I’m sorry, Robin. I’m so sorry you had to go through that, and so young. And i’m especially sorry I made you tell me. I didn’t- if i’d have known… I wouldn’t-”

“You’re okay” he stops her, his face pressed to her shoulder. “Talking about it isn’t painful now, only remorseful. But you deserve to know, and to know what we’re looking for. If we found the H, it’s likely there is already a body somewhere else in the castle with a J. And judging by the body we found… He’s here. The man is a malicious monster, Regina. I let him get away once. I can’t- I won’t let it happen again.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Idea's on who the killer is now? Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!!


	6. Scream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Spooky OQ Day 6: Scream

The first thing they do once back in the ballroom is search out her mother. Queen Cora is intimidating, he realizes, when she snatches her daughter up by the forearm and drags her to a secluded corner. Regina’s hand is still in his though, and she pulls him with them toward the dark. 

“Where have you been” she spits out, her eyes quickly flashing over Robin. “And who is this? You better be able to explain yourself, Regina. I swear, 21 years old and you’re still acting like a petulant  _ child _ . I knew I couldn’t trust you with an event like this. You-”

“Mother,  _ please _ just listen to me for one second. Then you can go on telling me how I’ve ruined everything, I promise. But I can explain everything, just listen to me.” 

Cora scoffs and glances to Robin again for a moment before turning back to her daughter. “You still haven’t said who he is.” 

Regina sighs, running her hand through her hair and taking a deep breath. “I’ll get to that, I promise. But you need to listen first. There’s a body in the wine cellar. A dead one, and we think that the killer is here at the party. It isn’t safe, we need to get out of here.” 

Cora stares for a moment, and the flash of anger that crosses her face has him stepping back. “You foolish girl. You think this is time for your games?” She steps toward Regina, her hand lifting. She’s not touching Regina, but the young girl gasps and grasps at her neck, her eyes wide. 

“M- mother please” she chokes out, her face turning redder as the seconds pass. 

He rushes to her side, looking back to Cora, who has a sinister grin on her face. “Your Majesty, she’s telling the truth.” 

“Stay out of this, boy,” she growls. She waits, menacingly watching as Regina struggles for air. After a moment her hand drops, and Regina falls into his arms, coughing as she tries to catch her breath. 

“Mother,  _ please, _ ” she gasps out. “It isn’t safe. You need to listen to us, this is-” 

A vibrating  _ slam _ echoes through the ballroom. The chatter calms to a quiet and heads turn toward a tall figure stepping through the crowd. 

“Hello darlings!” A man, dressed in a deep burgundy coat and sporting a top hat, walks through the grand doors of the room. The party has gone silent now, people staring as he makes his way through the crowd. “Cora, my love, are you here? Come out wherever you are!” 

The maniacal laugh he lets out send a chill down Regina’s spine. She looks to her mother, an always regal queen standing before her people. She watched as Cora steps out of the shadows, her back straight as she moves to meet the man. The crowd has fully spread now, and an eerie silence stirs in the air. 

“Hatter,” she spits out. “You’re not welcome here, Jefferson. It’s about time you realized your place in all of this.” Cora’s hand raises, the dark magic tingling off of the tips of her fingers, when Jefferson reaches out with his cane and a wash of black comes over Cora’s body. 

“You,” she stutters out, her skin turning to a washed shade of gray. “What’re you doing Hatter? You don’t have magic.” 

“That’s where you’re wrong my dear” he laughs again. They all watch as Cora’s body slowly turns to gray, the magic draining from the tips of her fingers into the end of his cane. “I met an interesting man along the way. Rumple, they called him. Anyhow there was a trade; a deal made, so that I could finally have the magic I always craved. And you, dear Cora,” he laughs, watching as the cane sucks up the last of her magic and she stumbles back, a scream ripping from her lips. 

Regina tries to move forward, headed to her mother’s side, when Robin pulls her back toward him. “Robin,  _ no, _ ” she pleads, looking back to Cora as Jefferson continues his speech. 

“Together,” he whispers in her ear. “The only way we’ll have any chance to beat him is together. You have to trust me, Regina. Listen, I think I have a plan…” 

They break away from each other moments later. Jefferson is still standing before her mother, laughing as Cora’s form crumbles down with the loss of her magic. 

“Do you all like my game?” he calls out, spinning slowly to address the crowd. Some flinch, ducking away from the cane as he points it toward them, but he laughs again and continues to stare them down. “You’re all pathetic. Don’t fear! Our game is about to begin! One of your precious party guests has already played. Another- well she just stumbled upon more than she’d hoped, I suppose. But one of you! One of you  _ lucky _ guests is up next in our little charade? Who may it be? Which of you chooses to seal your fate as your precious Queen Cora collapses?”

“Hatter!” Regina yells as she steps forward. He turns back toward her, a vicious grin spread across his face. 

“The princess” he giggles, stepping close to her. His body towers above hers, and a hand raises to caress the ide of her face. “Such a beauty… Tell me my dear, what brings you out here? Your mother’s demise?” 

“Get the  _ fuck _ away from my family” Regina growls. “You’ve no right to be here, Hatter. You heard my mother. It’s time that you go.” 

“Go?” he laughs. “Oh, you naive girl. Do you really think that little of me? I know that  _ you  _ know… You and that thief of yours found my surprise earlier. Ruining things, even then. And what do you think now, that I don’t know what you’re doing? That thief is here, somewhere. And when I find him…” He leans in, his lips grazing her cheek as he whispers, “i’m going to carve that little shit like I should have when he was a child.” 

“Don’t you dare” she growls, stepping back from him. She can feel like tingle in her fingertips, the one she’d grown up so desperately trying to conceal. “You touch him, and i’ll kill you.” 

Over his shoulder, she watches as Robin silently makes his way through the crowd. His eyes meet hers, briefly, before he steps up with enough space behind Jefferson that he can shoot. He winks once, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he takes a deep breath, and releases the arrow. 

Time slows, as the arrow flies toward the back of Jefferson’s head. 

A mad grin spreads across his face, and she feels time stop. 

“You really thought you were smarter than me?” 

The arrow spins through the air, and sinks back directly into Robin’s chest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! One more chapter to go!


	7. Possessed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Spooky OQ Day 7: Possessed

Her heart feels like it’s shattered into a million pieces. She’s fallen to her knees, cradling his head as she pleads for life. “No, no Robin please. Please wake up.” 

His eyes flutter and his trembling hand reaches up to take hers. “Regina.”

“No, hold on,” she begs. She can feel the magic coursing through the tips of her fingers, a purple hue coming over her hand. Gasps come from around her, partygoers whispering questions about the entertainment. She’s fuming, and terrified, and a combination of so many other gut-wrenching feelings that she can’t control. Her heart is racing with fear and anger, the burn in her palms growing stronger as the seconds tick. 

He sputters out a cough, the blood dripping down his chest. 

She’s crying, finally realizes it as her tears fall toward his chest. How this stupid man wormed his way into her heart in a matter of hours, she doesn’t know. But here he is, with an arrow in his chest, and she’s angry. She’s pissed, and the tears fall with more force, the burning sensation in her hands grow stronger. 

Her eyes open when she hears him gasp, a pained cry ringing from his lips as his body convulses under her trembling hands. 

“What- what’s happening?” she cries out. Her gaze never leaves his form, just watches as the arrow dissipates from his chest. Color starts slowly returning to his cheeks, and as the hole in his heart finally closes he sucks in a deep, gasping breath. 

“Robin?” she whispers in disbelief, her hands tracing over where the arrow was buried into his chest. 

He sits up, his arms immediately wrapping her tightly into a warm hug. “Regina” he whispers into her ear, pressing a kiss to her jaw. 

“Oh, what a loving reunion,” Hatter spits out. The cane he carries taps the ground as he walks, embers of Cora’s magic spitting out with each sickening scrape against the tile. “Too bad it’s too late.”

He turns his back to them and lifts his top hat off, giving the crowd a bow. “Jefferson Hatter, at your service ladies and gentlemen. A grand entrance, wasn’t it?” The crowds claps, and he turns his head to give Regina and Robin a grin that turns them uneasy. 

They all think it’s an act. 

“For my next allusion, I wish for all of you to look up! Watch as the illustrious next volunteer in our party makes their premier.” 

“Robin,” she whispers, gripping his arm tightly. “There’s going to be another body.” 

“Turn the lights off, Regina.” 

“I don’t know how!” 

He takes her face into his hands, forcing her to look toward him and away from everyone else. “You can, Regina. You have magic, you just need to think. Believe in it and it will happen.” 

She stammers our reason why she can’t, how she knows that deep down that was just a fluke- she can’t have magic. 

They watch as with a wave of Hatter’s hand, a body appears before the party. The body is hung, just as the one they’d found a few hours before, the different being the deep, large J carved into the man's chest. 

Their gaze travels up and a ring of gasps resonates around the room. The man hung above them is very much dead, and she can tell as people’s faces turn to fear as they watch the dead body looming above them, blood dripping down off the mans toes. 

What no one sees though is the pure anger that quickly makes its way across Regina’s face. He watches her though, whispers useless questions to her as she rises. There are flames coming from her palms, swirling embers of reds and oranges growing larger with each step she takes. She looks as though she’s a woman possessed, the fury coursing through the palms of her hands. 

“You  _ bastard _ ,” she growls, throwing the fireball toward Jefferson’s head. 

He ducks, but she throws another at his feet that catches the bottom of his robe on fire. 

“A problem, Miss Mills?” Hatter asks, stamping out the fire on his robe. 

“You know my problem” she fires back, another fireball joining her words as it hurtles toward him. “Daniel.”

“Oh! Your precious lover? He was a screamer, you know. Let out these precious sounds as I dug the knife into his chest. And oh, how he pleaded and begged for mercy. But, alas he met his demise. And what a beautiful centerpiece he is.” 

She only sees red, and with a flick of her wrist Hatters cane flies through the room and clashes against the ground. Her other hand stretches out and Hatter digs at the air around his throat. 

Her heart is pounding, blood rushing through her head and to her ears. She feels hands spread across her waist, squeezing her hips gently. “Regina” she hears whispered into her ear. “Regina it’s over, let him go.” 

Her hand is still stretched, her eyes wild but focused on Jefferson’s struggling form. “But  _ Daniel _ ,” she cries out, her hand squeezing a bit tighter. 

“A death on your hand doesn’t undo that of another. Let him stand trial, serve his time.” 

Regina let’s out a strangled cry and her hand falls limp to her side. Jefferson’s body crumbles to the ground, but is quickly brought back up by the guards who slap shackles around his wrists and ankles. 

“This isn’t the end darlings, only the beginning!” Hatter yells as he’s drug out of the ballroom. 

Regina falls back into Robins arms, hands clasped around the arm the bounds around her middle. 

The party disperses around them. A few people head for Cora, helping get her to her feet. She goes gqstraight for the cane, intent on restoring her magic as soon as she can. Cora comes to them moments later and he can feel Regina brace herself for the wrath of her mother, but it doesn’t come. Cora stares at her for a moment, giving Regina good look over that makes her squirm. 

“We need to have a chat about that” she says as she gestures to her daughter’s hands. 

“Yes Mother” she replies. Cora gives Robin a look of dismissal, but turns her back and leaves the party. The party has long cleared and moments later Robin and Regina find themselves out in the garden.  

She starts to apologize, the words barely escaping her before he cuts her off with a light kiss. 

“This night didn’t turn out like I’d imagined” she whispers, another kiss grazing against his jaw. 

His arms come around her, tugging her close to his chest. “You know, even with all of this I still wasn’t able to get you that glass of wine.” 

She laughs, leaning in to kiss him once more. 

Her fingers tangle with his, and with a steadying breath she leads him back toward the castle. “Well maybe we should go resolve that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought!


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